Israel’s Neutrality Allowed Iran to Enter Russia-Ukraine Conflict, Zelenskyy Says
Iran would not have provided drones and military personnel to help Russia in its offensive against Ukraine if Israel had not decided to stay neutral in the conflict, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy charged in a speech to a conference organized by an Israeli newspaper. Zelenskyy told participants in the Haaretz Democracy Conference on Monday via a prerecorded video speech that if Israel had sent military aid to Ukraine to help it protect against Russian attacks with Iranian military drones then the attacks would have dwindled along with Russia’s military arsenal.
Zelenskyy added that in return for Iran’s assistance in attacking Ukraine, Russia is likely to assist Iran with the development of its nuclear program.
“I have a question for you: How does Russia pay Iran for this, in your opinion? Is Iran just interested in money? Probably not money at all, but Russian assistance for the Iranian nuclear program. Probably, this is exactly the meaning of their alliance. And this alliance of theirs simply would not have happened if your politicians had made only one decision at the time: the decision we asked for,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy mentioned Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system by name during his address.
Ukraine has been asking Israel for military assistance since the start of the conflict in late February. Israel has repeatedly turned down the request, opting instead to send humanitarian aid. Last week, the Ukrainian government sent Israel an official request for air defense systems to help it fight the drone attacks. Israel responded that it would help with “ the development of a life-saving civilian early-warning system.”
Israel remains concerned about sending weapons and military equipment to Ukraine out of fear of angering Russia, which is actively engaged in Syria on Israel’s northern border.